I think that the amount of packaging used especially for foods can sometimes be ridiculous. For example, some foods are sold in a cardboard box, in a bag, and each food is wrapped individually with plastic. Candy is a huge culprit, because everything is always individually wrapped. I know that for a lot of foods certain packaging is necessary, but companies should find ways to reduce food packaging or at least try to use more sustainable materials. Instead of plastic, paper could be used. They could also find a way to keep plastic off of paper, leaving the paper un-recyleable. This is especially with things like meats you buy at the grocery that come in plastic. We should try to encourage developing new kinds of waterproof materials that are less carbon and resource costly to use instead of chemical styrofoam-like materials. Also packaging for packages themselves needs to be better regulated. Every time my family gets an Amazon package, it comes in an extraordinarily large box and there is usually a random assortment of generally unneeded packing equipment. I think it is  important to monitor the packaging Amazon and other companies that ship things. Then again, we would not need to have all of that packaging if we did not order the product, so maybe we should out more of an emphasis on local shopping, because it also takes carbon to transport packages.

I agree, I think that they should make biodegradable paper and packaging for pretty much everything. The packaging doesn't have to look pretty, it just needs to keep the product safe until you open it.

I have a friend who works in one of the Amazon facilities and he has told me about all of the packaging issues there. Most of the products that they scan are in a plastic container, with small plastic pieces, put into individual boxes. Rather using the plastics or the individual boxes, a nicer method would just be filling out an order and placing it all into the same box, to reduce the amount of cardboard, and possibly using less of the plastics that are around the actual product. Without the plastic container the box could hold more than just one or two products. It would also be wonderful if big shipping companies would switch over to bio-degradable packaging peanuts. These peanuts are made of an organic starch that dissolves in the water and leaves no toxic traces. It would be such a simple small step that would have an amazing outcome.